Tank construction



April 13, 1943. w J, o Ds I 2,316,296

TANK CONSTRUCTION Filed June 1, 1940 2 Sheets-Sheet l w. J. SIMONDS2,316,296

TANK CONSTRUCTION April 13, 1943.

Filed June 1, 1940 2 Sheet s-Shet 2 Patented Apr. 13, 1943 TANKCONSTRUCTION Warren J. Simonds, Orange, Mass, assignor to Rodney HuntMachine Company,

Orange,

Mass, a corporation of Massachusetts I Application June 1, 1940, SerialNo. 338,291

2 Claims.

This invention relates to tanks or tubs to be used particularly, but notnecessarily, in the textile industry, as dye kettles or vats forcontaining water, dyes, bleaching solutions, or other liquors, eitherhot or cold. The present construction is useful in any relation whereliquors are to be poured into and emptied out of the tank repeatedly.This application presents a distinct improvement over, but is directedto the same general subject matter of my Patent No. 1,948,137, datedFebruary 20, 1934.

U The principal objects of this invention include the provision of atank for the purposes above described, in which the walls are made ofthin metal, with connecting means between walls which will retain theshape of the walls despite continued, filling and emptying of the tank,thus avoiding fiexure and consequent fatigue of the thin walls, andpreventing breakage and weakening of the material; the provision of sucha tank in which the necessity for using cast iron and steelreinforcements and ribs is avoided; the provision of a greatlysimplified tank construction using thin metal sheets with consequentlessening of manufacturing expense, in which the corner connectionsprovide the required rigidity of the side walls, and thus allstrengthening ribs,

etc., heretofore thought to be necessary, can be omitted, with no lossin length of wear, convenience, or efiicienoy.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will appear hereinafter.

Reference is to be had to the accompanying drawings, in which Fig. 1 isa perspective view of a tank embodying the present invention, with partsbroken away;

Fig. 2 is a section on line 2-2 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a view similar to Fig. 1, but showing a modified form of theinvention;

Fig. 4 is a plan view of a corner construction of the tank shown in Fig.3;

Fig. 5 is a perspective view of a modified tank construction;

Fig. 6 is a plan View of a corner of the tank of Fig. 5; and

Fig. '7 is a section on line of Fig. 5.

The advantages and. disadvantages of using thin sectioned stainlessmetals in tanks of the present type have been explained in my priorpatent above identified. Briefly, steel and iron will quickly rust indye and bleaching vats, but stainless metals are too expensive to use inold constructions, and the gauge of the walls has therefore beenreduced. This results in flexing outwards of straight walls whenfilling, and. consequent return to flat condition when emptying, this inturn resulting in fatigue and fracture of the metal. My prior patentdiscloses a tank having set bulged walls and rib reinforcements toprevent flexing while still using thin metalwalls, and that invention inlarge degree solved the problem. However, I have now improved upon thatstructure and have discovered a way to avoid the use of the ribs, andthus lessen time and expense in manufacture, while still retaining theadvantages of my prior construction, and retaining the tank, walls intheir preformed, curved shape.

In the drawings, Figs. 1 and 2 show a tank or vat of generallyrectangular construction, and

formed of thin sheets of an acid or alkali resisting metal, such asstainless steel, monel metal, etc., or any material suitable for thepurpose. All the parts are permanently welded to form a permanent tankor vat, suitable for dyeing, bleaching, and other purposes. Beforeassembly, the sheets of material forming the sides, front, and rear areturned out to form flanges Iii, l2 for resistance to bendingtransversely, these flanges acting in the same manner as the flanges ofan I-beam, and since flanges I0, I2 are all welded together ina singleplane, they provide a rigid box-like frame. The bottom I4 may bearranged to slope down from rear wall l6 towards front wall 18, todrainthe tank as by a pipe 20..

The side walls 22, 24 are similar, and each comprises a relatively longsheet of stainless material which is preformed by longitudinal bendinginto the transversely curved shape as shown, the edges 26 opposite fromthe flanges I0, I2 forming supporting legs for the tank. These legs may,if desired, retain their original flat form to provide verticalsupports, in that area which is below the bottom M, as the liquors inthe tank do not affect this area. Except for this, however, anytransverse cross-section of either side 22, 24 will show substantiallythe same curved outline. The extent of the curve to which the walls arebent depends on the depth of the tank, as this determines the pressureon the walls.

The front I8 is also preformed by a longitudinal bend which produces thetransverse curve shown, and its edge 28 opposite from the flange l2 maybe straight to form a supporting leg. The rear wall 16 is similar andhas the same bulged or curved form. In the form of the invention shownin Figs. 1 and 2, the sides 22, 24 may be longer than the front andrear, and overlap the ends of the same, and the ends of the front andrear walls are cut on a compound curve just fitting the bulge or curveof the sides as at 30. When in place, the ends of the front and rearwalls are welded to the sides just within the ends thereof. Thisproduces the tank shown in Fig. 1, but of course the dimensions may bevaried.

It will be noted that when the four sides are welded together, thecurved ends 30 of the front and rear walls will act as members tomaintain the curve of the sides, and the preformed curve of the frontand rear walls. Also, the extending portions 32 of the sides form acontinuation, in part, of the flanges l0, l2, and thus rigidify the tanktop as a frame and these flanges I0, 2 prevent any transverse bending inthe walls. ,Hence,

due to the preformation of the walls and the novel cornerinterconnections thereof, the present tank will not bulge further uponfilling, nor collapse inwardly upon emptying, and yet no supporting 01'reinforcing ribs or extraneous castings or framework are needed, as hasheretofore been thought necessary.

The modificationas shown in Figs. 3 and 4 obtains the same result butwith a different corner construction. In this case, the walls all havesimilar flanges, as l, l2, and are curved to the same degree asdescribed above. However, the ends of the walls are cut off square, andangle irons 34' of stainless material are welded on their outsidesurfaces to the cut ends. This forms curved welded connections 36, andit will be seen that the apex of each angle 34 extends into the tank. Atthe tops and bottoms of the tank, the ends of the walls just meet, as at38. In eflect,the angles 34, formconti'nuations of flanges ID, l2.Another modification is shown in Figs. 5-7, in which the walls arepreformed to curve inwardly, and thus both a side wall 48 and a front orrear wall 42 are joined together on a compound curve, since thepreformed curved walls must b cut on an end curve reverse to that shownat 30, and illustrated at 44, so as to join and mutually maintain thenext adjoining wall curves. It is contemplated that any type of cornerjoint illustrated may be utilized for either an outwardly or inwardlybulged construction, and other corner joints than those illustratedmight also be used.

It is pointed out that a flat Wall will flex under liquid pressure load,but that either the inwardly or outwardly bulged walls will resist suchbending, due to the components of force set up in thewalls and flanges,and as the corner constructions will maintain the curves, no furtherreinforcements are found necessary to prevent the deleterious flexing ofthe thin side walls.

It will be seen from the above that there will be no bending or flexingof the walls by the introduction of liquids into thetank,,and.consequently there is no tendency to collapse inwardly whenthe liquids are drained, and therefore no fatigue or fracture canresult. 7

In this way a tank, vat or kettle is provided, which is devoid of thedifliculty due to the fatiguing of the metal, which has beenpresent withpressed in the claims.

these articles since it became necessary to make them of very thinstainless metal. The life of the article is greatly increased, the steelor iron strengthening frameworks or ribs are entirely avoided, thearticle is of light weight and yet strong and durable and it contains noparts made of metals easily attacked by the acids and the other liquidswhich are adapted to be used in these containers.

Although I have illustrated and described only a few forms of theinvention, I am aware of the fact that further modifications might bemade therein by any person skilled in the art without departing from thescope of the invention as ex- Therefore, I do not wish to be limited inthis respect otherwise than as set forth in the claims, but what I doclaim is:

1. As an article of manufacture, a tank having a bottom, side walls, andan open top, said tank being adapted for the reception and emptying offluids, said side walls being composed of flexible sheet metal which isthin enough to normally flex under liquid loads in the tank, and meansto prevent such flexing, saidmeans comprising pre-set bulges in saidside walls, said bulges being substantially uniform throughout thelengths of the walls from end to end thereof and extending outwardly,said walls being joined at their ends to to form vertically curvedcorners, an outwardly extending flat rim having down turned edges at thetop of each wall, said rims being joined at the corners and extendingoutwardly of the tank from the top of each comer, the bulges in the sidewalls being maintained in set condition under liquid loads by theircorners and by said rims, the latter acting as I-beams to preventbuckling of the side walls on vertical lines, certain of said sidewallsterminating in at least one edge lying substantially in a verticalplane, said plane being at a right angle to the respective side wall.

2. As an article of manufacture, a tank having a bottom, side walls, andan open top, said tank being adapted for the reception and emptying offluids, said side walls being composed of flexible sheet metal which isthin enough to normally flex under liquid loads in the tank, and meansto prevent such flexing, said means comprising preset bulges in saidside walls, said bulges being substantially uniform throughout thelengths of the walls from end to end thereof, said walls being joined attheir ends to form vertically curved corners, an outwardly extendingflat rim having down turned edges at the top of each wall, said rimsbeing joined at the corners and extending outwardly of the tank from thetop of each corher, the bulges in the side walls being maintained in setcondition under liquid loads by their corners and by said rims, thelatter actingas I- beams to prevent buckling of the side walls onvertical lines, certain of said side walls terminating in at least oneedge lying substantially in a vertical plane at right angles to therespective side wall. I

WARREN J. SIMONDS.

